Despite his fatigue, the private investigator knew he could not allow Erik to hit him again, or he would die. However, he could also feel much weaker than before, probably due to Erik's dart, which he knew was Logan's power that somehow Erik stole.
<Damn…> Hais thought. <I'm in serious trouble here…>
The investigator then lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air with deadly precision. At the same time, Erik moved with fluid grace, his mana-coated arms cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter.
He parried Hais's attacks; the young man metalized his skin, and thanks to the sharpening power, it was like two swords clashing and echoing in the small space of the office. As the duel continued, both of the contestants' mana releases caused the air to crackle, and Erik's excitement and bloodlust increased along with his advantage.
"You can't do this anymore, old man," Erik said after another exchange of attacks.
"Don't underestimate me!" he said while observing Erik's arm's weird consistency. He knew that was probably due to another power he stole, but he didn't let that fact affect him.
Hais was skilled, and his swordsmanship was honed through years of experience despite not being at the same level as someone studying at the Red Palace. He tried pushing Erik back with a flurry of strikes, aiming for his exposed sides. But the young man now had the situation under control, and if it weren't for the bloodlust, he would have already killed Hais. He was now toying with him.
"So, what did you plan to do if you managed to find proof it was me who killed them?" Erik asked.
"Did you have to ask?" Hais replied. "I would have given all the proof to the police so that not even someone like you could have avoided execution, or at least jail time…"
"It's a shame you'll die before revealing everything, huh?" Erik said.
"Tsk… I wouldn't be so bold if I were you!" Hais replied.
"Ok, ok…" Erik observed Hais for a couple of seconds, still ecstatic. "You know, I think I've had enough of this…" Erik said with a murderous glint in his eyes.
With a sharp intake of breath, Erik started channeling mana through his brain crystal. The fight was still going on, but the awakener's next move was going to settle the fight once and for all.
Soon after, a giant, transparent-blue wolf head materialized into thin air, its jaws gaping wide with razor-sharp teeth dripping a poisonous liquid on the ground.
The astral wolf lunged forward in a fraction of a second, its jaws snapping shut on Hais's sword arm. The wolf then ripped the limb off as if it were just munching on a succulent piece of meat. Hais cried out in surprise and pain, looking at the arm in the wolf's mouth as blood trickled from it.
Erik seized the opportunity, unleashing fierce attacks with his mana-coated arms, piercing Hais's abdomen and his sharpened arm coming out of the investigator's back.
The old man fought back with all his might, but the combination of Erik's brain crystal powers, his weakened state, and the very same nature of his brain crystal power was overwhelming.
The man staggered, blood oozing from the multiple wounds on his body. His face was a mask of horror, and Erik could see the fear in his eyes. Hais further stumbled backward, gasping for breath, unable to stand anymore, and soon after, he fell to the ground while he lost an increasing amount of blood.
Erik lowered his arms, the mana-coating dissipating and the astral wolf bite vanishing into thin air. He stood victorious, but as the bloodlust started to wear off, what he had done started to set in. He looked at Hais with a mixture of respect and pity, acknowledging his skill, power, and will.
"You won in the end, uh?" Hais said, his voice strained and coughing blood.
"I won," Erik replied. "Maybe it is too late to say this, but killing you was the last thing I wanted to do."
"You can keep your sorry excuses for yourself. You are nothing more than a monster, Erik Romano, and one day you will pay for what you did," Hais replied.
"Really? Despite knowing I was bullied and beaten every day by the three pricks after I told you Nathaniel tried to kill me, do you still think I was the one in the wrong? How dare you?!" Erik said in outrage.
"I don't care; you could have handled things differently," Hais said. "If you really were better than them, you would have spared them or asked for help…"
"It's easy for you to say that, but tell me, would the police have done something if I told them what they did? Would Nathaniel have stopped trying to kill me if I did? What I told you the last time, that his father was Mambas' leader, was all true. I even have proof! Are you really so naive as to think that everything would have stopped and that I would have finally had peace? No. The truth is that only the strong survive in this nation, no, in this world, and I did what I had to ensure my safety."
"You are no better than… them… Erik Ro…ma…no…" At that moment, Hais lost his life due to the blood loss. Erik felt a sense of relief washing over him.
ραпdα n?νa| сom [HOSTILE INDIVIDUAL KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 4315 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
[QUEST COMPLETE. REWARDS ISSUED.]
"Fantastic…" Erik said to himself.
He now only had to find Hais's files and delete them, and then get rid of all the physical notes the man wrote, but not before doing something more important.
Erik leaned forward, dipped his finger into Hais's wound, and then licked the blood off his fingers.
[MARTIN HAIS'S BLOOD ACQUIRED. STARTING THE ANALYSIS.]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
[50 DNA POINTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXTRACT THE DNA.]
[4780 DNA POINTS DETECTED. COMMENCING EXTRACTION?]
"No." Erik then grabbed his Flyssa from the ground and walked toward Hais. With a quick motion, he severed the old man's head, and a small translucent bead fell out of his brain. Erik picked it up, and after having cleaned it inside the bathroom, he swallowed it.
[MARTIN HAIS'S BRAIN CRYSTAL ACQUIRED. STARTING THE ANALYSIS.]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
[50 DNA POINTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXTRACT THE POWER.]
[4780 DNA POINTS DETECTED. EXTRACTION IS NOT ADVISED; THE HOST HAS INCOMPATIBLE DNA.]
[EXTRACTION ABORTED]
Erik knew he had to move quickly and efficiently to find any evidence that could implicate him in the murders Hais had been investigating. Erik kept his cool as he rummaged through drawers and cabinets, searching for anything that could connect him to the crimes.
A few moments later, Erik found a file tucked away in a hidden compartment. He pulled it out and quickly scanned its contents. It contained information on the victims, their backgrounds, and the details of the murders. Erik's suspicions were confirmed - Hais was awfully close to finding the evidence he needed to show he was the culprit. However, he also realized he had been lucky; Hais was awfully weak for his age, and that was the only thing that allowed him to kill him. If he were stronger, the awakener would have just fled the country.
Erik grabbed a lighter from his pocket and set the file ablaze without hesitation. He watched as the flames consumed the evidence, leaving no trace behind.
He repeated the process with any other documents he found inside the house, basically clearing the place for all the papers; however, the amount of garbage was too much, and soon, a fire started inside the apartment.
"Shit…" The young man said. He tried to stop the fire from spreading, but it was futile, and soon the furniture caught fire.
Erik knew he had no more time to lose now. He needed to erase any digital trail that could connect him to the murders.
<System, connect to all the devices inside the building and find every file related to Hais's investigation and delete it. Even if they are on other servers far from here. I want everything deleted.> Erik commanded the biological supercomputer in his mind.
[UNDERSTOOD. INITIATING SEARCH AND DELETION PROTOCOLS.]
Erik waited anxiously as the biological supercomputer began its task and as the fire spread. The smoke was starting to be seen easily, so he had to get the hell out of that building. He paced back and forth, his mind filled with anticipation and worry. He knew that if any trace of his involvement was found, it could be disastrous for him.
[ACTION COMPLETED. ALL FILES RELATED TO HAIS'S INVESTIGATION HAVE BEEN DELETED. NO TRACE OF YOUR INVOLVEMENT REMAINS.]
Erik sighed in relief, grateful for the biological supercomputer's efficiency. He knew he could trust the advanced AI to carry out his instructions without fail.
"Thank you," Erik said to the biological supercomputer, feeling a sense of gratitude towards the machine.
[YOU'RE WELCOME. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO ASSIST YOU, HOST.]
Erik nodded, acknowledging the computer's response. He knew that his relationship with the biological supercomputer was unique, as it was not just a machine but a sentient being with its own consciousness.
As Erik prepared to leave Hais's apartment, he turned to the biological supercomputer one last time.
"Are you sure there is no proof of me being here?" he asked.
[ALL DEVICES HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY TURNED OFF. YOU ARE SAFE.]
With that, Erik left Hais's apartment, knowing he had thoroughly covered his tracks. He felt a mix of relief and apprehension, knowing that he had successfully removed any evidence that could incriminate him, but also aware that his killing habit was getting out of hand.
After that, Erik pressed the fire emergency button, and soon, the alarm started ringing inside the building, alerting all the people present that they had to evacuate. With that done, Erik quickly left the building and returned to the Red Palace.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆webnovel